Tag: OEM Media Center PCs

Not sure the familiarity our audience has with Escient given its CEDIA-based marketplace, but they were known for developing their own linux-based movie and music ripping media servers. The interface was simple but effective, and they definitely had a following. CEPro is purely speculating here based on what they see and have heard, but who would blame them if all […]

Ian Dixon had previously done a video review of the original Niveus Zone, now Gizmodo takes on the ZONE Pro unit.   Gizmodo Here are the specs: 1080p, Blu-ray drive, HDMI 1.3, eSATA, Core 2 Duo, Gigabit Ethernet and a $2000 price tag. It lands in a strange spot between performance and "HTPC-ability", as in the ability to sit nicely […]

I wasn’t sure whether to put this under OEM PC’s or Extenders just given the ridiculous size of this unit. Looking at the specs I’m withholding judgment until I see someone throw some actual HD content at this, but they claim it’s going to be able to handle it.   Gizmodo Measuring just 4x4x1 inches, the fanless, XP-based system operates […]

Pretty feature filled OEM Media Center here, and I love the unique option of allowing the customer to select SageTV if they prefer it over Windows Media Center. $3100 gets you the box but it doesn’t look like it comes with the cablecard tuners themselves.   ZDNet To record video off those cards, the OMS-BX300 includes a pair of 2TB […]

The Media Center world is buzzing right now over this press release from S1Digital, announcing being able to stream HD Cablecard content from a server to various PC clients. Keep in mind, this does give the impression it’s proprietary to S1Digital systems, but maybe they’ll have the heart to license it out for enthusiasts. This has been the only thing […]

Not a bad looking setup, and you have to appreciate the lower wattage. This is one of the great things about Linux-based systems, they can be as fast as some beefier systems yet can run efficiently on much lower requirements. Still would wait and see on some benchmarks as pricing starts at $2600.   CocoonTech Capable of storing up to […]

Always a good sign for a product group when more large OEMs continue putting out products with it. After HP and Acer, now comes a cube offering from Lenovo. Slick looking box, quite similar to the Acer with the exception of the nicely designed custom software interface to monitor thermals. Still TBD what will make it for the US, as […]

Ian got his hands on a Niveus ZONE Media Center and has a nice detailed video review and unboxing. Click on the link to view the video. The Digital Lifestyle Niveus produce great hi-end equipment and recently they have launched a compact (6”x6”x2”) network media player called the ZONE. The idea being that you have multiple ZONEs around the home […]

PCMagazine has a quick review of the Acer Aspire Windows Home Server. This box is smaller than it appears and provides some great competition to the current champion HP MediaSmart Server. Coming in at a lower price with similar features, the Acer is solid but keep in mind you won’t have the HP-specific software (although a lot of those addins […]